Greens and Tee Aerification

Day 1

Day 7

Last week (September 8th) we completed our Fall greens aerification.  I had some extensive profile samples taken in summer to ensure that we make the biggest impact on the greens.  We used 1/2" core @ 1.5" spacing and went 3" deep.  All the holes were filled with sand and as you can see from the pictures above, they are well on their way to a quick recovery.  This is the tightest spacing I've gone since I've been at FCO.  The last 3 years, we went at 2" spacing, but tightened them this year to help with our percolation rates.  After aerification, I fertilized the greens to speed up the recovery  process thus making the greens a bit slower due to the flush growth we're promoting.  Once the recovery process is complete, an application of growth regulator will be made which will essentially shut down the growth and allow us to keep consistent green speeds (especially for the evening golfers).  We have continued to roll the greens (4x/week) which allows the ball to roll true and eliminate any bumps from the aerification holes.  

Tee aerification was also completed last week while the course was closed.  We used 5/8" core @ 2.5" spacing and went 3" deep.  Rather than picking up the cores, we used a mower to pulverize the cores and blew off any remaining debris.  After cleaned, we overseed the tees with Perennial Rye and drug in the seed while the aerification holes are open giving them a nice seed bed for germination.  With the spike in wind and heat, we've been forced to keep the tees softer than we want preventing them from drying out and occurring any turf loss.

Next, we will turn to fairway overseeding.  This will be a 3 day task, but is not an invasive process. Continuing to overseed every year will help keep the fairways dense and lush.  This is commitment we made 3 years ago and have had great support to keep the process intact and the results show.